Smoking pipe apparatus



Sept. 24, 1968 YOW-JIUN HU SMOKING PIPE APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 11, 1963 luvsu'roa 4 Yow-Jnm Hu 9 6, F I 4 ATTORNEY P 1968 YOW-JIUNHU 3,402,723

SMOKING PIPE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 11, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet Z W ATTORNEY p1968 YOW-JIUN HU 3,402,723

SMOKING PIPE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 11 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 no v 1; C Tl5l 1 I50 Fly/0 INVENTOR Yow-Juun Hu 2M 6W4. ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,402,723 SMOKING PIPE APPARATUS Yow-Jiun Hu, Alexandria, Va. (47Cummings St., Medford, Mass. 02155) Filed Oct. 11, 1963, Ser. No.315,660 4 Claims. (Cl. 131185) The present invention relates generallyto improvements in smoking pipe apparatus and the like, and moreparticularly to a new and improved ignition system to be used incombination with smoking pipes and apparatus therefor.

In the field of smoking pipes, it has been the general practice toemploy matches, conventional so-called cigarette lighters and other likedevices to perform the operation of igniting the tobacco within the bowlof a pipe by the application of same to the pipe bowl opening. Althoughsuch devices have served the purpose, they have not proved entirelysatisfactory under all conditions of service for the reason that each ofsuch devices is a separate item from the smoking pipe, but neverthelessa necessary element for igniting the tobacco within the pipe bowl, andtherefore must be remembered and carried on ones person at all times.Furthermore it has been disclosed in several earlier patents that whenthe top portion of the tobacco within the pipe bowl is ignited first, inmany instances its effect is to discharge to the smoker a caustic tastewhich becomes increasingly pungent as the unburned tobacco is consumed.This unpleasant taste is mainly due to the drawing in of air firstthrough the burned portion of the tobacco, as the heated air is thenpartially absorbed by the unburned tobacco in the bottom portion of thebowl, thereby giving off moisture and other residue which are capturedby the inhaled stream of smoke.

Those concerned with the development of smoking pipes have longrecognized the need for overcoming the formation of moisture and otherresidue in the manner previously described. Devices were thereforprovided for first igniting tobacco within a pipe at the bottom of thebowl by providing at that location certain types of electricallyconductive filaments having electrical input leads which extend beyondthe pipe surface. By connecting the leads to an electrical extensioncord and then to a suitable power source, the electrically conductivefilament could be heated to thereby ignite the tobacco. Such devicesalso were found to be very inconvenient due to the necessity of havingto carry on ones person an electrical extension cord. Further, thesedevices were impractical as only certain electrical power sources weresatisfactory, for if the current from any one source would be too largein magnitude the heating filament would be burned out.

The general purpose of this invention is to provide a smoking pipe whichembraces all of the advantages of smoking pipe ignition systems such asthose noted above, yet possesses none of the aforedescribeddisadvantages. To attain this the present invention contemplates aunique combination of elements comprising a battery and heating elementembraced within a smoking pipe, whereby inconvenience and efficiency areavoided by allowing a smoker to light or relight his pipe by merelypressing a switch conveniently positioned on the pipe surface.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved formof a smoking pipe tobacco ignition system that is simple in constructionand operation.

Another object is to provide unique combinations of elements within asmoking pipe for use in igniting tobacco.

3,492,723 Patented Sept. 24, 1968 ice A further object of the presentinvention is the provision of a recharging device for use with a batteryignition system in smoking pipes.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detail description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating preferredembodiments of the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a smoking pipe being a first embodimentof the invention with a portion of the bowl cut-away.

FIGURE 2 is a detailed view of the battery shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an isometric elevation of a second embodiment of theinvention.

FIGURE 4 is an isometric exploded view of a third embodiment of theinvention with a portion of the pipe bowl cut-away.

FIGURE 5 is a section taken along lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 4 to show theswitch mechanism.

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a cross section of a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 8 is an isometric view of a pipe holder.

FIGURE 9 is a section taken from lines 9-9 of FIG- URE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry involved inFIGURE 8.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 a conventional pipe stem 20 contiguouswith a bowl portion 21, which has an inner wall 22 and inner base 23defining the tobacco chamber 24, and an outer side wall 25. Exposed tothe tobacco chamber 24 is a heating element or electrical conductor 26integral with said base portion 23 and inner side wall 22, the terminalportions of said heating element 26 being connected to two contact pins27 and 28 within the bowl, said contact pins positioned directlyopposite the battery 31 positive and negative terminal points 29 and 30,the battery 31 being so located in the wall of the bowl 21 that itsouter surface is flush with the exterior surface 25 of bowl 21. Attachedto the sides of battery 31 are leaf springs 32 and 33, respectivelyinserted in the bowl receiving slots 34 and 35, holding the battery 31in place and spaced from contact pins 27 and 28. Connected to batteryterminal points 29 and 30 are leads 36 and 37 respectively, which areterminated at a female plug recessed within a small aperture 38 in thebottom of pipe bowl 21.

There is disclosed in FIGURE 3 a further manner of engaging a battery toa pipe bowl by having a bowl 42 provided with slots 43, 44, and 45 opento its outer wall, said slots being suitable to accept an equal numberof leaf springs attached to side portions of a battery 41. Within thebowl 42 are U-shaped passageways contiguous with the inner parts ofslots 43, 44 and 45, and adapted to receive the leaf springs fixed tobattery 41 so that the battery 41 may be rotated in a direction asdisclosed by arrow 46 and therefore tightly secured to the bowl member42.

In operation, after the tobacco chamber 24 has been filled with tobacco,the smoker merely has to push the battery 31, conveniently serving adual function as a switch, against leaf springs 32 and 33 to engage thebat tery terminals 29 and 30 with contact pins 27 and 28,

completing an electrical circuit, allowing the current to flow throughand heat up electrical conductor 26, to thereby ignite the tobaccosituated in bowl 42. A female plug within aperture 38 is directly hookedup to battery terminals 29 and 30 so that the battery 31 may berecharged when not in use, as will later be disclosed.

There is shown in FIGURES 4 and a further embodiment wherein stemportion 51 of a pipe 52 is connected to bowl 53, said bowl comprisingseparable upper and lower bowl members 54 and 55 respectively, the upperbowl member 54 consisting of a cylindrical outer battery member 56,having its lower inside surface threaded at 57, and conductive ring-liketerminals 58 and 59 extending around the bottom periphery of saidbattery. A cylindrical insulating member 60 is fitted within the batterymember 56 by friction or other means so as to be fixed thereto, theinner surface of said insulating member 60 defining a portion of thetobacco chamber 61.

The lower member 55 of the bowl has a raised surface 62 establishing thebase of the aforesaid tobacco chamber 60, there being affixed on orwithin said raised surface 62 a heating element or electrical conductor63 having a pair of exposed terminal portions 64 and 65 fastened to alower surface 66 of the bowl member 55. Electrical conductor 63 istapped by a pair of leads 67 and 68 connected to a female recharge plugrecessed within aperture 69 from the outer surface 70 of bowl member 55.A threaded wall 71 connects the outer perimeter of raised surface 62with lower surface 66 of the bowl 55 and is compatible with the threadedpart 57 of battery 56 so that the upper bowl portion 54 may be fastenedto the lower bowl portion 55 and ring-like conductive terminals 58 and59 will engage exposed terminal points 64 and 65.

A gap is shown at 74 in FIGURE 4 and also in FIG- URE 5, in a portion ofthe conductor 63, said gap being bridged by the wire leads 75 and 76 ofa switch mechanism (see FIGURE 5) within bowl 55 comprising anelectrically conductive biased spring member 77 connected to wire 76 andnormally disengaged from wire 75 and urged against a T-shaped button 78which is slidable relative to, yet limited in movement by stop member 79threadably mounted in the lower bowl portion 55 to be flush with theexterior surface 70 in such a manner that button 78 extends slightlybeyond said surface 70.

In operation, when button 78 is pressed inwardly, the conductive springmember 77 will engage wire terminal 75 to complete an electrical circuitacross the gap 74, allowing battery 56 to provide current to electricalconductor 63, heating up the same, thereby to ignite the tobacco withinthe tobacco chamber 61.

FIGURE 6 portrays a similar device as shown in the prior figures,however, in this embodiment the electrical conductor or heating element81 is depicted as being situated on the side portions of insulatingmember 82, which is frictionally mounted within battery 83.

FIGURE 7 yet discloses another embodiment of the instant inventionwhereby a rectangular battery 85 is conveniently seated within arectangular shaped opening in the holding member 86 which has a threadedportion 87 engaging a compatible threaded portion 88 on bowl 89. Toensure firm contact between battery terminals 90, 91, and the terminalcontact points 92 and 93 respectively, of heating element 95, aresilient material 94 is inserted underneath battery 85, and lateralmovement of the battery 85 is limited by the four side walls of thefitted holding member 86. The heater element or electrical conductor 95is helically wound around a conical shaped member 96 which is located inthe center of and integral with the inside base of bowl 89. Heatingelement or electrical conductor 95 is connected to both switch 97 andfemale recharge plug within aperture 98, which switch 97 and plug havethe same elements and operate in the same aforedescribed manner havingreference to FIGURES 4 and 5, their description and operation. Thebattery con- 4 tainer in the instant embodiment is useful in those caseswhere it is desired that the battery not be exposed to outside elements.

A smoking pipe rack 131 is shown in FIGURE 8 with a base 132 andvertical side 133, the base having cut-out portions 134-137 therein, soshaped to conform to the contour of a conventional smoking pipe bowl 138for receiving the same. A bar member 139 is located near the top portionof vertical side 133 for holding the stem portion 140 of a smoking pipein line with its respective cut-out portion in which the pipe has beenseated.

Each of the cut-out portions 134-137 is provided with male plugassemblies 141-144 respectively, more clearly depicted in the sectionalview of FIGURE 9. Each plug consists of a pair of conductive members 145and 146, respectively mounted on spring members 147 and 148, andconnected to wires 149 and 150. As shown by the circuit diagram inFIGURE 10, male plugs 141-144 are wired in parallel with a diode 151,and then booked in series with a diode 152 and load resistor 153 toterminal points of a switch 154, the other side of said switch beingconnected to a conventional 110 volts A.C. line.

As a smoking pipe of the type heretofore described in FIGURES 1-7,having a battery and female recharge plug, is placed within cut-outportion 134, male plug 141 will engage the female member insertedtherein to thereby complete an electrical circuit when switch 154 is inthe ON position. Due to the unidirectional diode 152, current will onlyflow in the direction indicated by the arrow, to provide sufficientrectified current to charge the battery through the male plug 141. Diode151 acts as a voltage limiting diode to avoid high voltage across themale plug outlet 141 when the charging action is not taking place.

It is noted that a simple recharge mechanism for a single smoking pipecould be utilize-d in the form of a compact unitary device, comprising aconventional 110 volt A.C. plug outlet wherein there is provided aresistor and pair of diodes as shown n FIGURE 10, for conversion of thecurrent to a DC. nature.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only preferred embodiments of the invention and that numerousmodifications and/ or alterations may be made therein without departingfrom the spirit and the scope of the invention, it is desired therefore,that only such "limitations be placed on the invention as are imposed bythe prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A smoking pipe comprising a stem connected to a bowl and tobaccochamber, an electrical conductor seated in said chamber, a battery withterminal means, means forming a recess in said pipe, means forpositioning the battery in said recess means with the terminal meansnormally disconnected from the electrical conductor, switch meanslocated on the pipe for connecting the terminal means to said electricalconductor, and a recharge outlet mounted in said bow-l and electricallyconnected to said battery allowing the battery to be recharged from anoutside source.

2. In a smoking pipe, the combination recited in claim 1 wherein saidbattery acts also as said switch means whereby the battery isresiliently mounted to normally be biased out of contact from theelectrical conductor, the battery being adapted to engage saidelectrical conductor when the battery is urged against said resilientmeans.

3. In a smoking pipe, the combination recited in claim 1 wherein saidelectrical conductor is helically wound about a conical extension of aportion of the bowl within the tobacco chamber.

4. In a smoking pipe the combination recited in claim 1 includingresilient means for normally biasing said switch means to disconnectsaid terminal means from the electrical conductor for controlling theflow of current, the switch means being adapted to connect said 5terminal means with the electrical conductor to cause cur- 2,974,669rent to flow when the switch means is urged against said 3,084,698resilient means.

References Cited 5 14,903 UNITED STATES PATENTS 189,062 457,4501,157,771 10/1915 Fulton 131185 2,738,792 3/1956 Smith 131185 6 3/1961E1115. 4/1963 Smith.

FOREIGN PATENTS 10/ 1934 Australia. 11/ 1922 Great Britain.

6/ 1949 Canada.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner.

1. A SMOKING PIPE COMPRISING A STEM CONNECTED TO A BOWL AND TOBACCOCHAMBER, AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR SEATED IN SAID CHAMBER, A BATTERY WITHTERMINAL MEANS, MEANS FORMING A RECESS IN SAID PIPE, MEANS FORPOSITIONING THE BATTERY IN SAID RECESS MEANS WITH THE TERMINAL MEANSNORMALLY DISCONNECTED FROM THE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR, SWITCH MEANSLOCATED ON THE PIPE FOR CONNECTING THE TERMINAL MEANS TO SAID ELECTRICALCONDUCTOR, AND A RECHARGE OUTLET MOUNTED IN SAID BOWL AND ELECTRICALLYCONNECTED TO SAID BATTERY ALLOWING THE BATTERY TO BE RECHARGED FROM ANOUTSIDE SOURCE.